Category: Family and Friends

Huntington Beach

We all had a great time just lounging around at the beach, enjoying the cool weather and the bright sunshine.

My Birthday

For my birthday, we made a simple meal of pizza topped with fresh and grilled vegetables. We also had grilled artichokes.

Chinese New Year

Yesterday was Chinese New Year. Many of the plants in our yard are in bloom now, and all of it added to the atmosphere yesterday. We celebrated by having company over, and to finish off the evening, we had a dumpling-making party. I took a break from making the guqin…

New Year and Friends

So, it’s the first Monday of the new year, and it will be nice to get back to a regular schedule. The last several weeks have been filled with a lot of activities. For one, my dad had a major birthday celebration. It started out on the Tuesday before Christmas,…

Dad’s Birthday and Trip

For Dad’s birthday, we went out for dinner on the actual date. Then, we planned an extended vacation, revisiting some of the familiar places that we had toured when we were much younger. It was a big combined celebration, of birthday, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.

Jun Jun’s Farewell

Jun Jun, also known by Jack, has been in Loma Linda for the past several months. He came from the Second Hospital of Tangshan and mainly shadowed Dr. Mudge and me. For his farewell, we got together to make pizza, one of his favorite American food.

Thanksgiving Weekend

One of the highlights was just having a simple picnic lunch right by the pond, on the deck over the vault. Also, I had the chance to visit the aquarium, Huntington Library and the new Chinese Garden, the Getty Villa, and El Matador beach near Malibu.

Hope Channel Opening Ceremony

Kandus and Brad Thorp invited a lot of people to the opening ceremony of the Hope Channel’s production center in Loma Linda. Brad gave a nice devotional about the satellite dish and performed symbolic footwashing as well.

Dinner with the Zhengs

Dr. Wright Zheng and his wife Connie invited Dr. Mudge, Leora, and me over for dinner. Everything was traditional Chinese, even the handmade dumplings.

Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital Delegation

Dr. He Chao and Li Hong came with a delegation from Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital to visit Loma Linda. We had everyone over to our place for dinner. Dr. Hadley and Donna came as well. It was good to see so many friends from Hangzhou.

Labor Day

Today, Brad brought Grant and Max over. I had the day off, of course, and we shot some archery rounds.

Alice’s Birthday Dinner

To celebrate Alice’s birthday, we went to dinner at a vegetarian restaurant in Rowland Heights, across from the 99 Ranch Market. Everyone had a good time.

Mothers’ Day Cooking

The group of young people at church volunteered to cook for Mothers’ Day, so that all the moms would have a break. Apparently, I got put in charge of the cooking. Everything went smoothly, and I think all the moms enjoyed the treat. Afterwards, I achieved a personal milestone—making a…

Spring Reunion

It was fun to have all the relatives over for a springtime reunion. We harvested some artichokes from the yard, steamed and marinated them, and then grilled them. Also, we took an excursion to Prospect Park to harvest some bamboo shoots. We had so much food for dinner, and everyone…

Chinese New Year 2008

Today is Chinese New Year! The 12-year cycle starts today, beginning with the year of the Rat—year number 4706, according to the traditional reckoning. The main celebratory act today was the installation of the two stone lions. The whole process was quite complicated. It was only accomplished through much maneuvering…

Catalina Day Trip

We left very early to make it to the ferry for Catalina Island. On the way out there, a pod of dolphins swim about a stone’s throw from our boat. A glass bottom boat tour allows us to see some of the ocean life. Part of the excursion also included…

Family Reunion and Getty Center

Everyone came over for a little family reunion time. We first had a simple worship service at home. For lunch, our family got together by the pond. Afterwards, we took an excursion to the Getty Center. Our day concluded with a vegetarian dinner at Happy Family Restaurant.

Winter Masquerade

This evening, we had the Winter Masquerade, on the top floor of the west wing. We had a good time, and it was a nice house-warming occasion as well.

Coyote Skinning

Two days ago, I started skinning the coyote, with the help of Ryan and Jeremy. One of the secretaries picked it up near Lake Arrowhead and handed it to me in Home Depot’s parking lot. It was road kill. After skinning and scraping, I salted it. Then, I brain-tanned and…

Epic Christmas Trip

We had an epic Christmas vacation! On Sunday, Christmas morning, we drove up to Monterey. The drive was nice, and the scenery was beautiful, especially around the Pebble Beach area. We had Chinese food for dinner. The next morning, I went out for a run—just after a night of rain.…